GIVEAWAYS AND SOME OTHER STUFF

Have you seen all the Halloween candy at Dollar Tree, Walmart and Dollar General?  If that's not enough to let you know that Autumn is coming, be sure to get your serving of Pumpkin Spice Spam, my friends.  

Pumpkin spice seems to be showing up everywhere - pies, coffee, hot sauce, cupcakes, cheesecake and everywhere else.  I can't say that I'm a fan, but if you are, be sure look for this treat in Walmart or at www.Spam.com.  Inquiring minds just wanna know ,what's left to add pumpkin spice to?(lol)

This probably sounds too good to be true, but your Friends addiction is finally ready to pay off  Interested candidates can apply here,  and you can have the chance to earn $1000 for watching 25 hours of your favorite program.   Plus they're throwing in a year of FREE Netflix so you can watch it nonstop.  But there's a little work involved, and includes interacting with social media with LIVE tweets, so camera shy, should not apply.

Do you have a really hard time leaving your pet at home when it's time to go on vacation?  Well hotels.com wants to hire your dog.  Yep, they need Fido's unbiased critique of various pet friendly hotels around the world, but you get to travel too if you win!  What's great about this sweepstakes is that it's open to the US, Canada, United Kingdom, Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Germany, France,,Spain and MexicoVisit  https://www.instagram.com/hotelsdotcom  or hotelsdot.co/CanineCritic for more info and enter no later than August 25, 2019.

August 22, 2019 is National Be An Angel Day.  This special day was actually created back in 1993 and is a great way to show kindness to a stranger. So many people are in need of hugs, blankets, a place to stay, help carrying groceries, socks, a listening ear, a smile or even a thank you.

Amazon has a cool perk for employees that work in their Seattle headquarters.

Camden is ready to work

Not only does it have a doggie deck with a fake fire hydrant and water fountains, but over 7000 dogs are registered to come into the office with their owners every day.

Wow!  If you're thinking of moving to San Francisco and renting, you may want to think about buying instead. According to a recent survey with Zumper, people pay the highest rents in San Francisco, with the average rent for just a one bedroom apartment being a whopping $3690.00 per month!

If you want to save time and money when it comes to traveling, download the FREE app that everyone is talking about https://www.packpnt.com
All you do is type in where you're going, the dates of your travel, and what you plan to do on your trip and packpoint will create the perfect list of what you should pack, and you won't have to guess about the weather conditions either.  Talk about a lifesaver!

Antonis Achilleos; Food Style-Torie Cox, Prop Style-Kathleen Warner

CHICKEN SALAD STUFFED TOMATOES



Ingredients(Southern Living)
6 Large Beefsteak Tomatoes
4 Cups chopped Rotisserie Chicken
1 1/2 cups chopped tri color Bell Pepper Mix
3/4 Cup Mayo
2 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice from Lemon
1 Tsp Kosher Salt
1//2 tsp black pepper or cayenne if you like it spicy

INSTRUCTIONS
Remove and discard tops of the tomatoes, then core and seed them
stir together the next 6 ingredients in a bowl until well combined.  Spoon about 1/2 cup mixture to each tomato. You're all ready to serve.  Cover and refrigerate the unused chicken mixture  up to 5 days or gobble it up later.

Even though she took a 15 year musical break due to Lyme disease, and the damage of her vocal cords, Canadian born introvert Shania Twain is still the top selling female country music star of all time, and worth a whopping 400 million dollars.  Celine Dion may be the number one selling singer in Canada, but she's followed by none other than the Queen of Country Pop, Shania Twain. 

Not only was it my birthday this month, but we're helping our Blogger Bud Lauren from over at https://shootingstarsmag.net/ to celebrate 12 blissful years of blogging for her blogiversary too!  Lauren talks about books, magazine, crafts, travel and so much more on her site, and there's never a dull moment.  You can also find her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.  One really cool fact about Lauren is that she's hooked on all things Harry Potter!  Be sure to enter these giveaways! 

Year’s Worth of Books – 12 books, one for each month. This is the giveaway I’m hosting and it’s U.S. only unless you can help with shipping. It ends on August 31. Even if, for some reason, you don’t want the books, you can still enter and have me tailor the books for a friend or family member if you win!

For What It’s Worth has a giveaway running for any book up to $25 (again, it’s open to International entries if The Book Depository ships to you). You have until the end of August to enter!

$10 Amazon Gift card from RO (that's me-lol)
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you know there are thousands of children who go hungry or can't afford school supplies every year? Last year https://www.blessingsinabackpack.org/ 
helped 85,000 children in 47 states, and they need your assistance to help even more.  You can help start a program, volunteer or help with donations.  This program fills backpacks with nonperishable foods when the leave school on Friday, so they're able to eat through the weekend.

MONDAY MEDLEY

Have you met the very gorgeous Dr. Sandra Lee, aka Dr. Pimple Popper?  Even if it grosses you out to look at weird medical procedures, it won't be long before she ropes you into a major binge of her television program on TLC.

This perky dermatologist takes away all your fears of minor surgery, and once it's all over, you just want to hug her for making you feel better. This includes removing large growths, keloids, pimples and other mysterious growths.  It's fascinating to see the final resolution, and strangely addictive. You've just gotta get through all that gory stuff. (lol)

Before and after. she knows her stuff!

I need to numb you up before digging into that lump please

The Daytime Emmys include awards for cooking shows, so I'll bet lots of professional chefs were shocked when Valerie Bertinelli, who won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award way back in 1981 and 1982 for One Day at a Time, won an Emmy for Outstanding Culinary Host AND Outstanding Culinary Program.  She is also known for her role on Hot in Cleveland, and you've probably adored her cuteness on The Kid's Baking Show on the Food Network with the fantastic Duff Goldman.

Did you know you can save money on gas and toll charges by using www.waze.com?  This is a great app you can use to carpool with someone who's using the same route you do for appointments or work.  Pair up and save!

If you live in NC and get a hankering for ice cream, Yelp has already chosen the best place to go, and it's called Surfin' Spoon.  There are plenty of yogurt flavors to choose from, and there's an area for you to pick your own toppings and syrups.

If you want to beat the heat in Arizona and dare to be different, head to Novel Ice Cream where their new flavor Turtle Cheesecake is all the rage.  Some of the menu choices like peanut butter ice cream with yummy bacon and bananas, are simply over the top.

Don't you just love hearing about random acts of kindness?  A 9-year old in Illinois noticed that their mail carrier was having a bad day in the blistering heat, and had a bright idea.

She started putting out a cooler with water, drinks and snacks on her porch at her home and those of her grandparents with a note for them to feel free to take.

Her kind acts were so much appreciated, that it wasn't long before she received special recognition from the Postmaster General in Washington DC, and she was shocked.

We see you Lydia Ziegler, and thank you!

There's still time to overnight those airline tickets to me for my Switzerland trip(lol)

STUFF YOU DON'T NEED

Who's had to renew their license lately?  Even though I arrived super early, you already know I wasn't the first customer, and the heat was sweltering.

Once called to the desk, I begged the examiner to let me use my picture from 5 years ago,where I looked least like a deranged psycho but he wasn't having it.  He told me when he turned 70 he wanted to use his photo from when he was 36, but his request was also declined. (lol)  So in 2-3 weeks I can expect to be tortured again when I receive my brand new license in the mail. Ugh!

Those of us under 66 should all just move to Arizona.  Drivers' licenses don't have to be renewed there for 12 years!

FROZEN MIMOSA
Whisk together 2 cups of champagne, 1 cup of fresh orange juice and 1/4 cup ginger or orange liqueur(like Triple Sec) in a pitcher.  Pour the mixture into 2-3 standard ice cube trays, freezing until totally firm, preferably overnight.  Transfer the frozen cubes to a blender, processing until smooth and frothy.  Pour into 4 flutes or tall glasses, topping off with more champagne.  Garnish with orange wedges.  Yum!

Caroline Earle White and several other women helped to establish the first animal shelter  in Philadelphia on April 14, 1869, and it was called The Women's Humane Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.  Now known as the Women's Animal Center (WAC), they are still saving the lives of abused and homeless pets by providing forever homes and affordable health care.  To find out more info on how you can help, please visit https://womensanimalcenter.org/

YIKES!  Have you ever suspected that some of your fast food was missing when it arrived to your home? 

According to US Foods who recently surveyed food service employees and about 1500 people who enjoy fast food delivery,  28% of the drivers got hungry and took or tasted the food before it arrived to their customer's home.  Ironically, 21% of customers suspected this was actually going on, but couldn't prove it.  Despite this tomfoolery, customers have on average 2 food apps on their phones and still order from restaurants about 3 times per month.  

By the way, do you know that loud hunger rumble you hear from your tummy has a really strange name called borborygmi?  It sounds weird, but it's gas moving around in the intestines.

Are you a fan of shoes?  If you've got millions laying around the house, you can purchase 2 of the world's most expensive to grace your closet.

Tom Ford's all diamond men's shoe custom designed by Jason Arasheben took almost a year to finish and is worth $2 million.  With 14,000 round diamonds totalling 340 carats, I would be afraid to even wear them outside. 

Debbie Wingham went even further and designed a woman's high heeled shoe shoe with blue and pink diamonds, 18 carat gold thread, and platinum.  How much will these shoes set you back?  An astounding $15 million! www.beautifulife.com

Keep your eyes peeled for a special giveaway here on the blog later this month, but until then...Do you enjoy reading and can't get to add another book to your pile?  Our Blogger Bud Lauren is celebrating 12 years of blogging with a special contest where you can win a year's worth of books  at: 
https://shootingstarsmag.net/years-worth-of-books-giveaway/

Just in case you forgot - it's August, and look at what I received as an early birthday gift from Beautiful Blogger Bud Elizabeth of http://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/

New 2020 Planner, Stickers, Gift Card to McDonalds, and the cool wrapping paper Elizabeth made!

This is the package it came. Where did Elizabeth find these perfect stamps?!

This is the opened calendar from up above that I started working on - Yay!

Elizabeth is an incredible talented artist, and exceptionally thoughtful person who I just adore, and her site is pretty dang amazing.  Not only does she talk about art, but museum visits, historical expertise and Tuesday Trips to various restaurants is just interesting to read about.  Even better, she has this witty sense of humor that makes me smile all the time.

Elizabeth made this!

Then, Beautiful Blogger Bud Adria from  https://adriasromancereviews.blogspot.com   sent handmade Harry Potter Washi Tape which is just perfect and fun! Adria is a book blogger and movie watcher who also happens to be artistically gifted.  Like me, she's addicted to washi tape!(lol)